


The Lily Witch

by Tribalbutterfly



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Minor Violence, Murder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 14:50:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14107719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tribalbutterfly/pseuds/Tribalbutterfly
Summary: A chance meeting with an old friend leads Adrien Agreste down a dark road. AUBased on a manga that I read recently and absolutely loved





	The Lily Witch

It was the hair that first caught his attention. 

In all his nineteen years, he had yet to see another person with that remarkable shade of blue-black locks. It flowed in a straight waterfall down her back, stopping just above her hips. The short pleated skirt she wore signified that she attended the prestigious private school on the other side of town. At first he hesitated before approaching her but the pull could not be denied. She was standing still, staring ahead as she waited on the train. 

Adrien stepped up to her and lightly touched her shoulder. 

“Marinette?”

She stiffened and for a horrible moment, he thought that he'd made a mistake. But then she slowly turned to face him and his breath caught in his throat as the sight of those incredible blue orbs. Eyes that reminded him of a summer sky just before dusk, lit up as she recognized him.

“Adrien?” she replied. Her voice was low, cultured, modulated. It was such a far cry from the ebullient tones that he had known during their early teens, that he blinked in surprise before gracing her with a wide smile.

“It IS you!” he exclaimed in delight, throwing his arms around her petite frame. He felt her tense in response, but then she hesitantly wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him in return.

Breaking the contact, he stepped back, leaving his hands on her shoulders. “How have you been?” he asked. “It's been so long!”

“Everything's...fine,” she responded, her eyes flickering away from him for a nanosecond. “Fine,” she whispered, almost to herself.

Adrien was inexplicably reminded of a porcelain doll…..beautiful to look at but terribly fragile. His fingers tightened almost imperceptibly as he frantically fished around for a topic of conversation. 

“And your family,” he questioned, “Are your parents well?”

“Oh yes,” she assured him. “Maman and Papa are still here.”

He found her phrasing a bit odd but decided against pressing the matter further.

“That's wonderful,” he beamed. At the sound of a train approaching in the distance, he hurriedly added, “May I have your number, I'd love to catch up with you….and see you again.”

She smiled softly, and he was struck dumb once more at the sheer beauty of her features. They exchanged contacts and as his train pulled into the station, he boarded, giving the dark haired girl a farewell wave.

____________________________________

Three Days Later  
_______________

 

Adrien glared at his phone as the call once more went straight to voicemail. Frustrated, he flopped back onto his bed, staring at the geometric circles on his sheets. 

“What's going on?” he whispered to himself. 

For days he had been trying to contact Marinette - however all his efforts were in vain. His texts replied unanswered and the calls to her phone went to a generic recording without even a ring. She was like an addiction...she was in his head and he felt like he NEEDED to see her. 

Just then, his cell rang. “Without even glancing at the called ID, he pressed ‘Accept’ and spoke into the device hopefully.

“Marinette?”

“Whoa….my man. I'll do almost anything for you, but role play is out of the question, dude,” came the laughing response. 

“Nino,” Adrien breathed, disappointed. He shook his head and concentrated on the conversation. “What's up?”

In the background, he could hear voices and music. Nino was speaking to someone but at Adrien’s question, he refocused on his best friend. “Man, you're late,” he chided the blond.

“Late?” Adrien frowned. 

“Max’s birthday?” came the reply. “Please don't tell me you forgot! I even sent you a reminder this morning.”

“Shit,” Adrien swore, scrambling up and hurriedly running a comb through his tousled hair. “I'll be there in 20 minutes.”

____________________________________

 

“Sorry I'm late,” Adrien panted as he dropped into the booth. The bar was abuzz with the sound of laughing patrons and clinking glass. The atmosphere was a warm and welcoming one, which made the establishment a favourite haunt of theirs.

“Well I guess we can blame this mystery girl, Marinette for that, no?” Nathanael teased as he passed a beer to the flushed blond.

Adrien glared at Nino while taking a long pull of the cold beverage. The dj held his hands up in a placating gesture.

“Don't kill the messenger, dude. I had to give them a reason for you flaking on them.”

“Marinette, huh,” mused Kim. “Wasn't she the girl who went to school with us? Cute, dark hair, blue eyes?”

Adrien narrowed his eyes slightly at Kim before nodding in agreement. 

“Man, she was hot!” Kim laughed, slapping a hand down on the table. “If she was like that at 13, imagine how banging she is now!” He made a crude gesture with his hands. “I'd like to find her and tap that.”

In a flash, Adrien was halfway across the table, Kim’s t-shirt bunched in his fist. His green eyes flashed dangerously as he snarled, “NEVER talk about her like that again, you utter fucktard.”

The complete silence at the table and Kim’s stunned face had the red haze slowly clearing from his vision. Shaking his head in disgust, Adrien dropped his handful of cloth and stood up. Tossing a twenty dollar bill on the table, he muttered something about needing fresh air and made his way outside.

Taking deep breaths, he pushed his hands in his coat pocket and began walking towards the subway station. The sound of his name being called pulled him up short and he turned around to see Nathanael hurrying towards his location.

Quirking a brow at his red-headed friend, Adrien reminded silent until Nate paused next to him.

“What happened back there?” was the first question asked.

Adrien shrugged. “Kim was being an ass,” he drawled. “He was out of line.”

“So this girl, this Marinette,” Nate pressed. “She's important?”

Adrien inhaled, then tilted his face upwards to look at the night sky, letting the breeze cool his flushed cheeks. “Unexpectedly so.”

____________________________________

 

One Week Later  
______________

“Why am I even here?” Adrien muttered to himself as he glanced up at the imposing gates.

St. Marie’s was one of the most exclusive schools in the city, with only the very rich or very smart being able to attend. Although Adrien fell in both those categories, he had pleaded with his father to let him attend a more ‘normal’ high school, something that was was now beginning to rethink. If he had only known that Marinette was going here, wild horses would have been unable to keep him away.

Today, Adrien had snuck out of school early, and made his way to St Marie’s, hoping that he'd be able to catch up with the dark-haired girl who haunted his dreams.

So caught up was he in his musings, that he didn't realize the gates had opened. It was the sounds of muffled giggles and hushed voices that drew him out of his reverie. 

Glancing at the huddle of younger girls who were coyly observing him, Adrien straightened and flashed them his ‘model’ smile. This caused them to erupt in a fresh batch of squeals and he patiently awaited as they gathered themselves under control once more. When they were suitably composed, he asked them about Marinette and was stunned to witness their reactions - ranging from pity to outright disgust.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” a brunette scoffed. “She dropped out of school just over a year ago.”

“Yes,” a mousy blonde piped up. “It was terrible...after all that she had lost, I guess she couldn't handle it anymore.”

The brunette wrinkled her nose and haughtily interjected. “Well she doesn't seem to be too broken up….considering the fact that she's been selling herself for money. I thought the insurance payoff was a tidy sum, but apparently Marinette has expensive tastes.” 

Adrien felt sick to his stomach. He gave a feeble wave to the girls and muttered his thanks, then blindly made his way from the school. Marinette? His Marinette? The images assaulted his subconscious and he darted into an alleyway. There he lost the contents of his lunch and heaved until there was nothing left in his stomach. The heavy ball of despair still remained in his belly however, and he leaned weakly against the wall to support himself. 

Eventually, he felt strong enough to walk again and as he stumbled out into the street, he made up his mind to find her at her house. He vaguely recalled the area where she lived but he was positive that if he walked around the vicinity, it would come back to him.

Making up his mind, he decided to begin his search that very weekend.

____________________________________

That Saturday  
_____________

Adrien wandered aimlessly throughout the streets, desperately seeking for a landmark that would jog his memory. Row after row of houses passed with no luck and he was just about to call it a day when he passed a bakery sign. Coming to a dead halt, Adrien stared at the front of the store, as the memories filled his brain. 

Strangely enough though, the name on the front was no longer ‘Dupain-Cheng’, but something that he did not recognize at all. Frowning, he studied the outside of the building and after assuring himself that this was the place in his childhood recollections, he took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

The bell at the top jangled and as he stepped into the cozy space, he was greeted with the scent of freshly baked bread. Inhaling deeply, he made his way to the register, where a middle aged man wearing an apron was waiting with a ready smile.

“Good afternoon,” he greeted Adrien.

“Hello, sir,” Adrien replied. “I actually came here looking for someone, but now I feel as if I may have the wrong address.”

“Maybe I can be of some assistance,” the baker responded, with a grin. “I do know lots of people from the area.”

Adrien nodded fervently and smiled in relief at the older man. “That would be wonderful. The family that I'm looking for used to live in this very building and had a bakery here as well. The Dupain-Cheng’s?”

At the name, the other man’s face lost it's jovial look and became instantly somber. “Are you a friend?” he asked.

Confused as to the baker's reaction, Adrien tilted his head slightly as he informed the man that he was a childhood friend of the daughter.

“Such a shame,” the baker said, sadly shaking his head. “It was a real tragedy.”

That ball of nerves re-appeared in Adrien’s gut. “Tragedy?” he choked out.

“Yes, it was about a year and a half ago. The entire family had gone out for a stroll apparently. They were accosted by muggers and from what the reports say, the lowlifes attempted to assault the daughter,” the man's voice dropped. “You know….sexually.”

At Adrien’s nod, the baker continued. “Tom Dupain put up a fight when he realized what they wanted to do to the girl and in the scramble, he, his wife and their daughter were shot. The two of them died at the scene but the girl survived and spent some time in the hospital. When she was discharged, she was sent to live with her father's sister and the house and bakery were sold. It's a sad tale, to be sure.”

It was a subdued Adrien who thanked the baker and left the establishment. Even though the day was sunny, he felt a chill run down his spine at the tragedy that had befallen Marinette and her family. 

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he began making the long and lonely journey back home.


End file.
